The Professional Convention Management Association has launched a new Crisis Communications Guide for business event strategists on how to confidently handle communications around a crisis situation.
Based on a 15 point tool kit, the Guide should be an essential aide for those involved in planning a range of events. It focuses business event strategists on the impact poor communications can have on a crisis–or a stressful situation. The critical role of upholding a brand or company’s reputation plays when things go wrong is intrinsically linked with a hard-working communications plan. Today’s 24-hour news cycle means that opportunities for the wrong messages to leak out are ever-present, making communications planning an essential part of every event organizer’s role.
“We all need to think about ‘Resilience and Reputation’ – the core of what any business needs to have–and how we build these to counter any threat,” says Sherrif Karamat, president and CEO of PCMA. “What happens at our events has a lasting effect on our brands. This guide helps prepare event organizers to ensure a positive and long-lasting brand reputation.”
The actions the guide recommends are grouped in three phases; pre-crisis, or day-to-day business strategic planning; during a crisis–who handles it and how; and post crisis–responsibilities, resources and recovery. It stresses the importance of asking ‘what if…?’ across the business, making sure that plans can respond adequately. The Guide also addresses the importance of re-building a reputation post crisis. Good communication skills are critical throughout the process.
The Crisis Communications Guide is set to be distributed to PCMA’s extensive network of contacts throughout North America, Asia and EMEA.
PCMA educates, inspires and listens, creating meaningful experiences where passion, purpose and commerce come together. They are the world’s largest community for Business Events Strategists providing senior education and networking for the business events sector. PCMA crafts and shares knowledge and market intelligence, enabling organizations to make informed business decisions while providing a platform for peer-to-peer exchange. Headquartered in Chicago, PCMA has 17 chapters throughout the U.S., Canada and Mexico with members in more than 40 countries. For more info on the PCMA family of brands, visit PCMA at pcma.org, PCMA Education Foundation at foundation.pcma.org, PCMA Convene magazine at pcmaconvene.org, Digital Experience Institute (DEI) at digitalexperienceinstitute.org and the Incentive, Conference & Event Society Asia-Pacific (ICESAP) at icesap.org. For more info on the Crisis Communications Guide, visit pcma.org/crisis.
